I am not the person you want to ask for advice when looking at the new MCAT. I can, however, give some advice when taking Step 1; questions, questions, and more questions. Being able to practice reasoning through Step 1-like questions is essential to getting a good score. This is because a large amount of Step 1 is not just knowledge, but translating your knowledge to answering the question at hand. Because of this, test-taking skill is very important.

Most medical students use the normal question banks, such as U World, which offers a subscription model that provides a large number of questions for a set period of time. One source I didn't have when studying for Step 1 was Lecturio, which provides a FREE question bank, as well as lectures to help improve your knowledge and, ultimately, Step 1 score.

Unique to Lecturio is that there is immediate feedback for every answer provided with each question, so that when you get a question wrong (or right) you can get immediate feedback and education on the topic.

Although the free q bank itself is a great way to augment your current studying, Lecturio also has a paid subscription model that provides access to more questions and video lectures by physicians and specialists. These videos are of much high quality than some of the other video review series I have seen previously, and are organized well within content and easy to find the exact topic at hand.

I gave my account to some current 2nd year medical students who are studying for Step 1. Most are currently using First Aid and U World, and all were impressed with the easy to use Lecturio software that doesn't require installing software, and is accessible on multiple devices. Additionally, I was told the questions are multi-step and require both foundational knowledge and critical thinking, which is exactly what is needed when studying. One student stated he appreciated how the feedback was written and was 'less frustrating and more educational' than other programs, which made him want to keep studying when he may have normally become frustrated.

Note: I was approached by Lecturio to review their software, and I provided my account to current medical students to trial. I was not provided a paid account for free, and all the above are my personal thoughts and feedback from current 2nd year medical students studying for Step 1.

The MCAT today is a totally different beast from the one I took, and when asked for advice, I always feel uneasy say too much. That's why Accepted.com is a great resource for helping to prep for the MCAT! Check out Alec Lee's webinar on Tuesday, April 5th at 8pm EST to get ahead of the game!

Stay Away from these 5 MCAT Offenses!Prepare for the MCAT exam armed with the information and advice you need to ace it. Earn a score that will make you and your target med school proud!

Regardless of what you want to do, the 3rd and 4th years of medical school are important, but can also be difficult to excel in. Transitioning from classroom based learning to clinical in-hospital evaluation can be hard to adapt to. Here are some tips to help you get great evaluations in any clinical rotation.

If you're on-time, you're late: This is very important. Your clinical team should never be waiting on you. Always plan on showing up at least 15 minutes early. If you end up having free time, use it to scan some high-yield notes on your current rotation, or help out the nursing staff. Never show up late, and--if you can help it--don't call in sick. Consistently being early is expected, plus you may end up getting some extra procedures by being the first student.

Be useful: Always ask yourself; "What will we need?" Try to figure out the 'next step' your team will take. If you need a computer then go log in. If you need copies of your list then go make them. Never wait for direction, always try to think ahead and try have the 'next step' ready to go. Being useful will help decrease wasted time and increase the amount of time the attending and residents can spend teaching.

No bad questions: Yes... there are bad and stupid questions. My golden rule? Never ask a question you can Google. If you want to ask good questions you need to pay attention to the discussion and patient presentation. A good rule of thumb is to ask more personalized questions; "How you you utilize the PERC rules in your daily practice?" or "I noticed you placed that patient on NS, when do you personally start contemplating LR vs NS?"

Utilize your residents: Never ignore your residents. Even if they are not directly grading you, your ability to be useful and helpful to the residents will not only be noticed by the attending, but may also end up in you getting extra procedures and learning opportunities.

One of the best ways to stand out as a medical student applicant is by participating in research studies or performing your own research. Of course, presenting or being published is usually what people are after, and being part of a major university study increases your chances of being published or swept off to a fancy conference. Accepted.com has just posted an exhaustive list of some of the best research programs available to undergraduate students. These programs are all 6-12 weeks and many provide a nice stipend and/or living arrangements.

Remember, anything you do above and beyond your average undergrad student is going to set you apart from other applicants--not just for medical school but also residency--and is usually well worth the effort!

Once again, Accepted.com is pulling out all the secrets in an online webinar. Register today for free, Get Accepted to Medical School in 2017. Not only does Accepted.com do a great job of tailoring your essays and resume, they also provide wide range of helpful tips and information that can make a major difference in the applications process. Check them out!

Learning how to succeed in medical school can be as challenging as being accepted. Each week you may be responsible for hundreds of PowerPoint slides, twenty hours of lecture, and multiple book chapters. Tests will require you not just to know the material, but to utilize your knowledge to integrate information in complex multiple choice questions. Memorizing information may have worked in undergrad, but we need new study habits now.

Matching into residency can be extremely stressful, regardless of your scores or specialty. Finding programs to apply to, scheduling away rotations, traveling to interviews, and trying to decide how to rank programs is a completely new experience for most medical students. Add the stress of incorporating another person into the process and it becomes overwhelming. Additionally, the couples match is poorly understood by many and requires strategy to successfully complete. This past spring, my fiancé and I matched into our first choice program after a year of planning and nail biting. Here is our guide to navigating the couples match.

As the days get colder and your favorite routes ice over, you'll probably be hunting for a new way to get your training in. Putting in time during the off-season is a shortcut to coming out stronger next season. I consider my winter training to be just as important as spring & summer. Not only are you preventing winter weight gain, you're also expanding on cardiovascular gains from the past season. Here's my guide to winter training to prevent overtraining and burnout, while still getting the most out of being snowed it.

I've had a lot of questions from my friends who are currently first and second year students about what they need when third and fourth year come around, so I made a list of everything I think is important to keep you ahead of the game on the wards. The best part is that everything is available on Amazon, and can be seen here, or click on the image below.